Vanitas (versions 1 and 2) | Kingdom Hearts
I’ve seen the “draw it again” meme on artists’ pages, so I decided to do a "make it again” one. On the left is the first Vanitas doll I made; on the right is the one I just finished for another commission, and I made a number of improvements that I like a whole lot better.
His head’s in better proportion, I did the jaw frame a little more neatly, and I made his belts thicker. I went for a “messier” look with his hair this time, whereas I concentrated more on volume with the first doll. I also made the layers of his buttskirt out of one piece each, as opposed to three pieces stitched together like before, and smoothed out the edges of the red patch between his legs. Most drastically, I think I did much better on his chest design -- I sketched it out on graph paper first, using each square as a separate stitch, and ugh it just looks 50x better imo. Unfortunately his main belt hides his ab lines, which are also much neater; I might make that one a little thinner next time.
AND, for the black yarn, I made the switch from Red Heart to Crafter’s Secret, because RH’s black has always been a lot thicker than what it says on the tag. That really helped with his head size and made his arms a bit skinnier, and put him at the same height as my Ven doll.
Lesson to be learned here: practice makes perfect! Or if not perfect, then something closer to it, at least. The hours you put into each project do count, because experience is invaluable (and the hardest thing to make yourself accumulate, especially when you’re starting something new). Never be afraid to experiment, either, whether it’s with technique or something as simple as yarn type.
And as a bonus, I photographed him with my Flood. :’D